Battle of San Lorenzo
Battle of San Lorenzo | |||||||
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Part of the Second Banda Oriental campaign | |||||||
Painting of the battle by Ángel Della Valle. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Provinces of Río de la Plata | Spanish Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
José de San Martín (WIA) | Militia Capt. Antonio Zabala | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
140 mounted grenadiers 70 militia[1] |
250 Montevideo militia 2 cannons[1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
16 killed 22 wounded[1] |
40 killed 14 wounded & captured 2 cannons[1] |
The Battle of San Lorenzo was fought on 3 February 1813 in
This battle was the only one that San Martín fought in the modern territory of Argentina. The city of San Lorenzo keeps historic memorials of the battle and it is referenced in the San Lorenzo march.
Prelude
Although Buenos Aires had suffered a difficult period in its war for independence, its prospects were improving by 1812. Even though the defeats of
The royalist troops that would raid San Lorenzo comprised eleven minors vessels of varying sizes, two hundred and fifty militiamen and fifty sailors.
San Martín moved the regiment from Retiro to Rosario, nearing the river at San Pedro and San Nicolás. He was following the Spanish ships and moved at night to avoid detection. San Martín had one hundred and twenty men for this action, reinforced at Rosario by a militia of seventy men under the command of Celedonio Escalada.[6] Those reinforcements included twenty-two rifleman, thirty cavalry, a small cannon and men armed with knives.[7] Escalada had made other actions against the royalists before this battle. San Martín discovered that the royalists intended to pillage the San Carlos Convent and pressed the march to arrive there first. One-hundred royalists landed on San Lorenzo, but the only food available to them was some chickens and watermelons. Aware of the risk of pillage, the population had removed the cattle from the area before the royalists arrived.[7] Escalada arrived in San Lorenzo before the bulk of the patriot army, but the dust trail from the path to Rosario revealed their presence. Escalada attacked them but their ship had a longer range than his cannon, keeping him at bay. He was forced to retire when he found a Paraguayan prisoner who had escaped from the ship. The Paraguayan disclosed the size of the royalist army and their plan of attacking the convent with a larger force, suspecting that the local money was kept in it. They did not attack the convent right away, requiring time to prepare the two field cannons. Escalada returned with San Martín and relayed the news. The march from Retiro to the convent took only five days, thanks to the cadet Ángel Pacheco. Pacheco moved ahead of the regiment and prepared horses in advance at the relay positions.[6] The whole army arrived on scene during the night of 2 February and hid inside the convent.[8] They entered through the rear door and were not allowed to light fires or speak during the night. San Martín studied the enemy and the battlefield from the convent's tower, using a monocular.[9]
Battlefield
The battle was fought at the location of the modern city of San Lorenzo, Santa Fe which is next to the Paraná River, at the point of its widest flow. The west bank of the river was tall and steep, forming a natural obstacle, and ships could only land troops and materials on that side of the river using man-made paths cut into the side. The battlefield was near one of these paths, shaped like a ladder, after which the terrain was a big plain with scattered bushes. The San Carlos Convent, the main nearby building, was a short distance away from the river.[7]
The location was not an easy place to defend without artillery, as the plains made surprise attacks difficult. Except for the convent itself, the terrain did not offer any
Battle
The grenadiers left the convent at dawn, preparing their formations behind the convent. San Martín returned to the tower to watch the enemy who disembarked at sunrise, 5:30 in the morning. He mounted his horse, gave a short harangue to the troops, and headed to battle. His strategy was to divide his cavalry forces into two columns, of nearly sixty horsemen each, and make a surprise pincer movement to trap the enemy forces.[10] The cavalry would not use their guns, relying instead on sabre and spear attacks.[11] The right-hand column was headed by Justo German Bermúdez, and the left-hand one by San Martín.[6] The royalists marched in two columns with the two cannons, a deployed flag and military drummers. The clarion of the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers sounded for the first time, marking the beginning of the battle.
San Martín's column was the first one to reach the enemy. The two cannons and the cannon fire from the ships defended the royalists, but they were quickly outmanoeuvred by the sabre attacks and, unable to form a square, had to retreat. The advantage of surprise and the speed of the cavalry charge allowed the regiment to defeat the larger royalist army who had almost double their number of soldiers.[5] When Bermúdez and his column joined the battle the royalists were not able to stand their ground and were routed, retreating in disarray under covering fire from the ships. Bermúdez led the attack at this point as San Martín had fallen from his horse.[12]
San Martín did not mention Escalada in his first battle report, initially leading historians to infer that they stayed within the convent during the battle.[11] However it is currently considered that they took part in the battle, as suggested by the royalist battle report and a later report from San Martín which clarifies that only twelve grenadiers stayed in the convent.[13]
The combat took around fifteen minutes and left forty royalists dead and many injured, including Zabala. Fourteen patriot grenadiers died in the combat and two more would die afterwards due to combat injuries.[5] Manuel Díaz Vélez fell from his horse in the gully, was mortally injured and captured by the royalists. Bermúdez was shot in the patella and died a few days later. Hippolyte Bouchard captured the Spanish flag after killing the standard-bearer.[14]
Cabral's intervention
Despite the victory, the remaining royalist forces could not be pursued as the column led by Justo Bermúdez had moved further than calculated for. This delayed the meeting with San Martín's column whose horse was killed by enemy fire, leaving with his leg trapped under the corpse of the animal. These factors led to the columns not meeting up and allowed many royalists to escape. A royalist, probably Zabala himself,
Juan Bautista Cabral is commonly known as "Sergeant Cabral", but he was a private at the time of the battle. San Martín's report mentions him as "the grenadier Juan B. Cabral", and historians like Bartolomé Mitre, Herminio Gaitán, Gerardo Bra and Norberto Galasso support the idea. Mitre considers that Cabral was promoted posthumously, but there are no documents confirming that.[17]
Aftermath
Even though the Battle of San Lorenzo is acknowledged in Argentine historiography as an important battle for Argentine independence, it had little military influence in the conflict. Much of the recognition the battle generated is because San Martín fought in it, as the size of the forces involved and the length of the clash would normally mean it was considered a military engagement rather than a real battle and it did not influence the development of the Argentine War of Independence.[13] This victory did nothing to prevent further raids from royalist ships as there were new raids at Tigre on 18 August 1813 and yet another one at San Fernando on 22 August.[13] William Brown ended the royalist naval supremacy the following year.[14]
San Martín did not take hostages or ask for ransoms, but rather he instructed his people to avoid further conflicts and to try to restore peaceful relations with the royalists.[18] Zabala requested assistance for his wounded soldiers, which San Martín provided and he invited Zabala to share a large breakfast, which he accepted. San Martín was aware that the new enlightened ideas at stake in the Napoleonic Wars influenced many of the Spanish military, and expected to convince Zabala that absolutism was a bad cause to defend. He succeeded, as Zabala joined the patriot forces under San Martín's command during his administration in Mendoza.[18]
José Gervasio Artigas, leader of the popular resistance at the Banda Oriental, sent an agent to San Lorenzo to congratulate San Martín for his victory.[19] San Martín also met with John Parish Robertson, who informed Britain about the battle.[19]
Legacy
There are many Argentine memorials and places named after the battle, including three cities in Greater Rosario: Puerto General San Martín, Capitán Bermúdez and Granadero Baigorria are named after José de San Martín, Justo Germán Bermúdez and Juan Bautista Baigorria respectively, all of whom were involved in the battle. The Sargento Cabral Department at the Chaco Province is named after Juan Bautista Cabral, even though he was not a sergeant as described. The most popular homage to the battle is the name of the football club San Lorenzo de Almagro, named after both the battle and Saint Lawrence.[20]
The city of
The battlefield is known as the "Field of Glory", and it was turned into a park on 20 May 1913, by president Roque Sáenz Peña. There is a monument with two symbolic wings of victory, an eternal flame and nine memorials for the 16 patriot soldiers who died in the battle. The memorials are for the nine origins of those soldiers: the Argentine provinces of Corrientes, Santiago del Estero, La Rioja, Córdoba, San Luis and Buenos Aires, as well as Chile, France and Uruguay.[22] Although Uruguay did not exist at the time of the battle, the Banda Oriental province is considered a predecessor of modern Uruguay.
The stone pine tree (
Songs
The Battle of San Lorenzo is the theme of the San Lorenzo march. The military march was composed in February 1901 by
The Battle of San Lorenzo was also mentioned as an Argentine victory in the first Argentine National Anthem, along with the battles of San José, Suipacha, Las Piedras, Salta and Tucumán.[27] There is also a brief reference to the battle in the march Mi bandera ("My flag"), which is about the flag of Argentina. However, the march includes a historical inaccuracy: "Here is the flag that one day triumphantly rose in the middle of the battle and, full of pride and gallantry, went immortally to San Lorenzo." Thar is incorrect as the current flag of Argentina was not widely used until 1814 or 1815. The Battle of Salta was the only conflict of the Argentine War of Independence fought in current Argentine territory under the modern flag of Argentina.[28] The San Martín National Institute states, by oral tradition, that the grenadiers of San Lorenzo did not use any flag for the operation.[18]
References
- ^ a b c d Camogli & Privitellio 2005, p. 73.
- ^ Mitre 1952, pp. 105–106.
- ^ a b Mitre 1952, p. 106.
- ^ Galasso 2009, p. 89.
- ^ a b c d Galasso 2009, p. 92.
- ^ a b c Camogli & Privitellio 2005, p. 74.
- ^ a b c Mitre 1952, p. 107.
- ^ Galasso 2009, p. 91.
- ^ a b c Mitre 1952, p. 109.
- ^ Galasso 2009, pp. 91–92.
- ^ a b Mitre 1952, p. 110.
- ^ Mitre 1952, p. 112.
- ^ a b c Galasso 2009, p. 93.
- ^ a b c Camogli & Privitellio 2005, p. 76.
- ^ Galasso 2009, p. 96.
- ^ Galasso 2009, p. 97.
- ^ Galasso 2009, pp. 97–98.
- ^ a b c Galasso 2009, p. 95.
- ^ a b Galasso 2009, p. 98.
- ^ "Historia de San Lorenzo de Almagro". sanlorenzowebsite.com.ar (in Spanish). 9 May 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
- ^ "Funciones" (in Spanish). Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers. Archived from the original on 9 December 2010.
- ^ "Campo de la Gloria" (in Spanish). Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010.
- ^ "Ley 12648 (Declárase monumento nacional el histórico convento de San Carlos, en la Provincia de Santa Fe y el campo contiguo al monasterio, donde se librara el combate de San Lorenzo): Modificaciones (Reproducción del Expediente 5637-D-98)". Bill No. 1153-D-00 of 24 March 2000 (in Spanish). Argentine Chamber of Deputies.
- ^ "Pino Histórico" (in Spanish). Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers. Archived from the original on 9 December 2010.
- ^ Marchini, David; Mayochi, Diego. "La marcha de San Lorenzo" [The Battle of San Lorenzo]. El combate de San Lorenzo (in Spanish). San Martín National Institute. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
- ^ a b Emery, John; Gall, Ian. "La Marcha de San Lorenzo or St. Lawrence's March". Argentine British Community Council. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
- ^ "San José, San Lorenzo, Suipacha, both Piedras, Salta and Tucumán; La Colonia and the same walls of the tyrant in the Banda Oriental. They are eternal signboards that say: 'Here the Argentine arm found triumph, here the fierce oppressor of the Fatherland his proud neck bent'." – Argentine National Anthem
- ^ Galasso 2009, p. 94.
Bibliography
- Camogli, Pablo; Privitellio, Luciano de (2005). Batallas por la Libertad (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Aguilar. ISBN 987-04-0105-8.
- ISBN 978-950-581-779-5.
- Mitre, Bartolomé (1952). Historia de San Martín y de la emancipación sudamericana (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Peuser.
External links
- La batalla de San Lorenzo (in Spanish) – Includes a transcription of San Martín's letter to the Argentine government, informing them of the battle.
- El combate de San Lorenzo (in Spanish) – Report by the San Martín National Institute